It sucks living in a world which has such high expectations of you and which has you under a microscope, constantly picking apart everything about you. It's impossible to breathe without being scrutinised and it's a shame that that has become the norm. It's as if we all now just expect to be criticised for everything we do and it's stopping us from living our lives as the best versions of ourselves.

We're all so bogged down with the opinions of others. They consume us. What other people say has impacted our daily routines to the point that we're now more worried about what other people might say or might think should we do something outside the norm. We're fixated on pleasing everyone and never stepping one foot out of line out of fear or judgement or anyone so much as passing comment on us, which is so sad.
Society today expects us to be polished. We're supposed to look immaculate whenever we leave the house, not a hair out of place or an imperfection on our face because anything that isn't flawless is considered ugly. Many of us wear make-up to hide the parts of ourselves which we feel aren't socially acceptable, such as spots, blemishes, scars and dark circles. We wear it to feel more confident because society has taught us that being confident whilst bare faced isn't the norm. We are supposed to feel as though we look best when we are wearing fifty make-up products applied to perfection on our face. We are supposed to feel best about ourselves when we look like the people on the billboards, TV screens and magazine covers. We are supposed to compliment people when they wear make-up because we have been taught that make-up is what makes us beautiful. Actually, it's all lies. Society is feeding us false ideas on what we should look like in order to fit in and feel good about ourselves. Whilst make-up is a fantastic form of self expression, creation and art, it isn't everything. Make-up is great as a self esteem booster but I wish to remind you that you needn't rely on foundation and lipstick in order to feel worthy of a life of happiness.

I'm terrible for it. I don't leave the house without wearing make-up besides running to my corner shop where I keep my head down out of fear of being recognised. I don't feel confident without make-up because I feel under constant pressure to be "perfect," despite knowing how ridiculous it is because "perfect" has seven billion different definitions and they come in the form of each person on this planet. It saddens me that so many of us feel unworthy of admiration when we are bare faced. I love make-up and how it makes me feel but I wish I felt the same way without it when, in fact, I feel the polar opposite. Feeling beautiful without make-up isn't something you can achieve overnight. It is a change which manifests within your brain, heart and soul and is simply something which you must learn to do over a period of time. If we could all change our views on ourselves in the click of two fingers, we'd be living in a totally different world but, alas, we can't. So, we must work on ourselves. Changes within the body take dedication and determination but they are not as impossible as they seem. The goal of feeling just as beautiful bare faced as you do with a full face on may seem a million miles away in the future but, I promise, it is attainable and you shouldn't doubt yourself. We are so strong, we have the ability to achieve anything we set our mind to. We have evolved since birth into wonderful human beings and every day we all battle with our own minds and personal situations, yet we always overcome them and live to fight another day and, if we can simply get through each day, we can do anything. Surviving is the hard part in today's world when there's so much pressure on you to be anything but yourself, but you're doing it. You wake up each morning and you go to sleep each night, regardless of the hardships you faced that day. And, for that, you deserve to love yourself and feel content with how you look, at all times.

It's easy for me to sit here, in my bed, write a blog post that says "you should all feel beautiful without make-up!!!" and click publish. Things are easier said than done, we all know that, but sometimes it takes actually saying them to push us to do them. Human beings cannot survive alone. We need to feed off the positive energy radiated by others and we crave motivation. If I could press a button which would automatically force everyone to fall in love with themselves, I would, but whilst I can't, I wish to encourage you to learn to do so all by yourself.
You can be beautiful without make-up. The truth is, you already are, because beauty is not something that is defined by physical appearance. Yes, human beings can be physically attractive, but real beauty comes from within. It's a cliche, I know, but there is so much truth in it. Our exteriors aren't what matters. They are simply shells to keep us warm and to make it easier for us to be identified. We can only control how we appear on the outside to a certain extent. We cannot change everything so why don't we just love it instead? It's great for you to experiment with how you look. Plastic surgery, lip fillers, hair styling, make-up... they're all acceptable and you should never be shamed for using them. However, don't use them for the wrong reasons. Change how you look because you want to and because it will help shape you into a better person. Change how you look to express your identity, to have entertain yourself and to make the most of life. Don't change yourself because you feel as though you are supposed to. Don't change yourself because other people want you to. Don't make the changes that they want you to make. Don't feel as though you have to look a certain way in order to be considered a valued member of society. You are worthy of love, respect, kindness, success and joy, regardless of how you look.

By learning to fall in love with and accept who you were destined to be, you are being your most beautiful self. By feeling good on the inside, you are radiating positivity and beauty without even realising. Despite what you think, feeling good about yourself really shows on the outside and other people will absorb that self love which shines so brightly from you and it will help them to feel better about themselves. However, even if you aren't quite there yet. Even if you absolutely hate everything about yourself, you are still beautiful. You are beautiful because you alive. You are beautiful through all the acts of kindness you carry out...giving compliments, holding doors open, donating to charity, making people laugh...they are all acts of beauty. By walking this Earth and showing compassion and support towards your brothers and sisters, you are being beautiful. There are a million and one ways in which one can be beautiful. You should never doubt your beauty because self doubt is the root at self destruction. There is never any need for you to question your beauty and just because you don't look like the people you consider to be beautiful, doesn't mean you are not beautiful yourself. The beauty of others is not in the absence of your own.

With make-up, without make-up, you are beautiful. Challenge yourself to accept your bare face and understand that there is no such thing as an imperfection. Everything you may consider a flaw is simply part of who you are and there is no shame in embracing those things. Wake up each morning with self love at the forefront of your mind and encourage others to do so too. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you look like, you're lovely.